


7 Packets of Sugar, 2 Cupcakes, 1 Date

by bearonthecouch



Category: Fullmetal Alchemist - All Media Types, Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood & Manga
Genre: Alternate Universe - Coffee Shops & Cafés, Alternate Universe - College/University, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Cupcakes, F/F, F/M, Friendship/Love, Romance, Tumblr Prompt
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-03-07
Updated: 2019-03-07
Packaged: 2019-11-13 04:34:29
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,288
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18024779
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/bearonthecouch/pseuds/bearonthecouch
Summary: “Is that Roy Mustang?” she asked, turning back to Riza.“Where?” she asked, a little too loudly and with a little too much excitement. Rebecca smiled knowingly. “Shut up,” said Riza, although Rebecca hadn’t even opened her mouth. Catalina waved a hand vaguely in the direction of the booth where possibly-Roy Mustang was… there was no other word for it: he was cuddling Maes Hughes.





	7 Packets of Sugar, 2 Cupcakes, 1 Date

This [FANFICTION TROPE MASH-UP](https://flourchildwrites.tumblr.com/post/183225046841/fanfiction-trope-mash-up) prompt was requested by [flourchildwrites](https://archiveofourown.org/users/flourchildwrites/pseuds/flourchildwrites), who requested numbers **4 (coffee shop AU)** and **80 (green-eyed epiphany)**

* * *

 

A paper cup full of coffee landed in front of Riza, dangerously close to her laptop and the essay she’d been writing for the last half an hour. But when she looked up to glare at the unexpected deliverer of unexpected coffee, said deliverer just rolled her eyes and perched on the chair across from Riza, who watched with jaw half-open as Rebecca Catalina poured no fewer than seven packets of sugar into her own cup.  

“What?” Catalina asked as she replaced the plastic lid of her cup.

“What are you doing here?” Riza asked pointedly. It wasn’t that she didn’t enjoy Rebecca’s company, it’s just that Rebecca’s company was never conducive to studying, and finals were next week. And this essay  _was_ half her final for history. She hit ctrl+s to save and then closed the computer. Rebecca took a huge gulp of her coffee and grinned. “I’m just here to meet my math tutor, Ri. I’ll leave you alone, I swear.”

“Thanks for the coffee.”

“Sure. You buy mine next time.”

Riza nodded, even though Rebecca knew perfectly well that she could only pay for dining hall meals on her food-plan swipe card, because unlike some people, her father didn’t send her money. Next semester she’d probably have to get a job, but next semester was not a problem to consider until after this semester’s finals.

Rebecca scanned the crowded coffee shop, and was happy to discover that her math tutor was waiting in their usual booth, a couple of notebooks thrown onto the table in front of him next to the largest ceramic coffee mug she’d ever seen. But that wasn’t the interesting thing. The interesting thing was that he wasn’t alone. “Is that Roy Mustang?” she asked, turning back to Riza.

“Where?” she asked, a little too loudly and with a little too much excitement. Rebecca smiled knowingly. “Shut up,” said Riza, although Rebecca hadn’t even opened her mouth. Catalina waved a hand vaguely in the direction of the booth where possibly-Roy Mustang was… there was no other word for it: he was cuddling Maes Hughes.

Riza’s confused expression evolved into outright shock. She looked back at Rebecca. “Roy’s not-”

“Gay?”

Riza nodded. “Trust me. I  _know_ Roy isn’t gay.”

“Maybe he likes girls and boys. Or maybe he just likes Maes.”

Maes Hughes, math tutor, who was currently letting Roy sit on his lap and planting kisses down his jawline like they weren’t in the middle of a public place.

Rebecca took one last look at Riza, who would never admit out loud to any living person that she had a crush on  _anyone_ , especially not the boy who’d spent most of his high school career in her father’s chemistry lab. Riza was hurt by this new evidence of Roy’s lack of interest in her. And even if she didn’t understand why she felt betrayed by a senior having a relationship with someone else, Rebecca understood.

“Don’t worry, Ri,” she said, slinging her backpack over her shoulder. “I got this.”

She stalked around the tables and chairs until she reached the back wall and the booth where Hughes and Mustang canoodled. “Ugh,” she cried. “Get a room.”

Hughes shoved Mustang off of him so quickly that Roy almost tumbled onto the floor. He glared at Maes as if the interruption was his fault. Maes met Rebecca’s eyes and nodded toward the chair. “Sit down. You’ve got finals next week, right? So, what do you need help with?”

Now it was Mustang’s turn to look wounded. He absolutely hated being ignored. But Maes was here to do a job and Roy had to understand that. And as far as he was concerned, this wasn’t something that needed to be talked about.

Rebecca, of course, had a different opinion. “Look, it’s none of my business if you guys are in a relationship or just fuck buddies or neither of the above. Honestly, I really don’t care. But Mustang, if you don’t go talk to Riza by yourself then I will drag you over there and babysit your entire conversation."

The look of confusion on Roy’s face only darkened. “Riza? Why would…”

“Think about it, big guy. Riza’s had feelings for you since the day you met. You really never noticed? God, all through high school, you were all she talked about.”

“But-”

It was true Roy had spent more time with Riza than with any other freshmen in her first and his last year of high school. But that was only because he’d frequently seen her sitting quietly in the corner of her father’s classroom working on middle school homework and reading. Nothing in that indicated that she was attracted to him. Roy was well-acquainted with girls falling over him looking for dates, and had been since fifth grade. Riza went whole weeks without saying a word to him, and had always seemed happy enough completely ignoring his existence.

“Go talk to her,” Catalina insisted, and as Mustang finally nodded agreement, she added: “She likes those cupcakes they have here.”

Roy actually smiled at that and walked up to the counter to buy a cupcake. Two, actually. When he turned back to the table he’d left behind, it really did look like Rebecca and Maes were actually studying. He took a deep breath and walked over to Riza’s table, where she was bent over a notebook writing something, slowly and carefully.

“Mind if I join you?” He held up the cupcakes, a peace offering to end the fight he’d never realized they were having.

Riza took a long time to study his face, but he set down the cupcakes and she finally nodded. “Okay,” she said softly.

Roy sat down. “Look, I-”

“Do you like him?” Riza blurted out.

Roy frowned. “Hughes?” Riza didn’t say anything. The question was so obvious it didn’t need to be repeated. Roy scratched the back of his neck nervously. “Yeah. I like him, but that doesn’t mean… I mean… I can like other people.”

Riza smiled slightly at that, and Roy’s heart soared. He shoved a cupcake into Riza’s hand and then licked the frosting off of his own, smiling the entire while. “So, Catalina,” he finally said. “Does she know what she’s talking about?”

“Mmhmm. She’s been my best friend since freshman year.”

“So whatever she told me about you is probably true?”

“What’d she say?”

“That you’ve wanted me since the day we met.”

The day they met, Riza was barely ten years old. But still, she nodded. “Is that okay?”

Roy shrugged. “Sure. I definitely like you at least as much as I like these cupcakes.” He put on the grin that made all the other girls melt, but Riza just glared at him. He sighed heavily.

“Look, me and Maes… it’s just fun. But to be honest, I’m looking for something a little deeper than that. And I think you are too.” He knew the types of books she read, sweeping fantasies and romance novels. Riza believed in lifelong commitment. He wasn’t sure he was ready for  _that_ , quite yet, but…

“Will you come with me to the Triangle thing on Friday? Otherwise, I’ll have to go with Maes, and I’ll just end up drinking until I black out.”

“You want me to go to a frat party?”

“It’ll be fun, I promise. And if it isn’t, we can go somewhere else.” When Riza still didn’t say anything, he continued: “You trust me, right?”

Riza glanced at the cupcakes and then looked him in the eye again. “Yeah,” she said, honestly. “I trust you.”


End file.
